Penguin Pop!

Oru Kayak

My old boss sent me this.

Website is here.

Favorite Tweezers

Some people think you must be cheating if you're using a tool.  Certainly, there's something to be said to have the skill to work small folds with only your anatomical tools; but tweezers are no different than how folding on a table is a tool.  And being able to use tools can be an art in itself.

There are a number of tweezers I like to use; but the two pictured are my top 2 favorites.  Especially the top one:  La Cross by Sally Hansen Precise Tweez over glasses Tweezers Angled Tip 71950.

On Amazon, they're being advertised for $45.99.  Cheapest I found was through eBay for $19.99.

OFF (Origami for Fun) meet up yesterday

I have not been to one, all year, I think.  And Joe hasn't been to one even longer than that.

So it was with great joy that we were able to attend yesterday's meet up.

After dropping Joe off, I picked up dinner from one of the many Japanese food eateries littering Gardena.  At Tokyo Central, I found these (did not buy any):

A Thousand Origami Lego Cranes?

As a fan of origami and Legos....

Paper Plane Launcher

I ordered two of these earlier from Amazon:

Origami City

Carol Stevens was kind enough to unbox Joel Stern's Origami City kit for me:

Origami Collapsible Hand Bag

Folding Chairs

Yanko Design:

We enjoy seeing how far a designer can push furniture to be portable and innovative at the same time. In a way, the Flux Chair is quite similar to the Ollie Chair since they both can compress down to a flat pack, making them a dream to store and very easy to transport/carry around. The impressive thing however about the Flux chair is its ability to do so A. in a way that makes carrying even easier because your folded chair is smaller as well as lighter, and B. using just one material that isn’t just flexible when you need it, but rigid enough to support the body’s weight too.
The beauty of Flux is in the way it transforms from a large polypropylene envelope (briefcase sized) to a fully functioning chair that takes all of 3 minutes to set up. Using curved folds to make the chair structurally sound, the designers have managed to strike a rather lovely blend between structural integrity, and a unique aesthetic that doesn’t look anything like something you would imagine would be achievable through folding (Yves Behar’s Kada Stool, for example). In fact it reminds one of an origami version of the Pantone Chair, if you ask me, personally! The curves not only give the Flux chair its incredible load-bearing abilities, they even make the chair comfortable to sit on, as the curves on the chair match those on the sitter’s bodies.

On sale for $129.99

Seen at the Cherry Blossom Festival

Last weekend at the Monterey Park Cherry Blossom Festival, one mother was carrying this purse that was very much like a series of waterbombs:

This is wearable:

I suddenly want to make one of these:

Solar-powered rotating display stand

I got a couple of these solar-powered display stands at Tokyo Central in Gardena, CA.  It doesn't work that well in medium-low indoor lighting.  Works great in general, though.

I fold Yoda with 3 fingers.  I now fold nostril holes into the model.  I haven't mastered satisfaction with the face, yet.

One of the shaping details I don't see people doing is opening out the back hood.

Night lamp

I found these at the beginning of the year while shopping at Tokyo Central (formerly Marukai) in Gardena:

January 8, 2017

Origami Vending Machine in Uchiko, Japan

Origami.Me has posted about an origami vending machine in the village of Uchiko, Japan.

Rocket News:

The unusual machine with the sweet folded paper designs is warming people’s hearts around Japan. 

 From persimmons to eggs and even noodles, we’ve seen vending machines dispense some surprising things in Japan. Now we’ve found a machine so unique it’s been featured on television and newspaper reports around the country, with even Japanese people raising their eyebrows in delight at its unusual contents.  

 Located in the rural town of Uchiko in Ehime Prefecture, this vending machine contains a range of beautifully folded origami designs. The traditional Japanese art of paper folding isn’t something you’d immediately think to connect to a vending machine, but this one proves that when the two worlds collide, the results can be simply beautiful.

Check out some comments on their FB page.

The items are said to be exquisitely folded (unlike the cheap versions of the origami magic cranes I purchased on eBay).  Done and maintained by a 61 year old resident of the village.

Looks like this young entrepreneur was onto something:

Kickstarter Project: Origami Army - Fold Paper Cranes in Half the Time!

I've run this blog for well over a decade now.  It's mostly been on life support and auto-pilot, as I don't check in here everyday or post a lot.  The Sunday Funnies are all pre-posted and scheduled to publish for every sunday up through next February, at the moment.

I apologize for any missed comments; or ones needing publishing as I do have moderation on for older posts (I turned this on after starting to receive some spambots).

I just noticed a comment from last February left in the Welcome post by Wakawakashii

I folded 1,000 paper cranes last year. I was struggling so much with the sheer quantity until I started embossing my paper with the required folding times. After embossing, I could fold the cranes in half the time without looking at my hands! I want to share this idea with any other origami enthusiasts or beginners who want an easier way to get into paper folding, so I need to spread the word!
 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/739633721/origami-army-fold-paper-cranes-in-half-the-time

Apparently the project did not meet its goal and ended in March.

It's a shame as this could probably help those seeking to fold a thousand cranes for weddings.

Jill, if you decide to try again, I will do my best to help you promote your efforts.

Origami in Name Only

Joseph Wu is in Japan and posted that he bought some Starbucks origami coffee.

I believe this is a review by Heather Shida:

Origami PJ Bottoms

For you late night folders, these are currently found at your local Target store:

Hat tip: Margaret Wong

Magic Crane Review

A while back I had discovered a fun little gimmicky magic act:  The magic crane.  Over a year ago, I filmed a magician who incorporated it into his stage act.

I couldn't find the one I had ordered from Seo Magic for this past weekend.  Paying another $26 dollars seemed a bit harsh on my wallet, so I thought I'd check into any alternatives.  (The jumbo version is $45).

I ended up finding ones on eBay for about $6, cheapest.  Fortunately, the photos were accurate and not misleading.  I knew exactly what I'd end up getting:  Crappy folded cranes:

I don't know who they got to fold these, but you'd think they'd actually find someone who can fold at least a bit more neatly than this.  How hard can that be?

The ones ordered from Seo Magic are higher quality, as far as folding neatness goes.  And pricing and affordability is all relative and dependent upon how you measure and value the payback dividends.

I'm not disappointed in the ones I got off eBay, considering the price differential; and they still accomplish the trick they're meant to do.

The people at Seo Magic USA seem nice (located up in Torrance) and I may order from them again.  The contact there offered to coordinate and meet with me to drop an order off instead of shipping (and last time when they shipped, it arrived pretty much next day).

Here's an alternate presentation of the magic crane:

Polygons crowdfunding

Polygons takes cues from the folding magic of origami, and comes in two sizes; one measures out ¼, ½, ¾, and 1 teaspoon and the other measures out ½, 1, 1½, and 2 tablespoons. In addition to saving space in a drawer (every bit helps in tiny kitchens), the flat design makes it easier to clean and transfer sticky ingredients from the spoon into a mixing bowl. 

"When creating Polygons, we decided to engineer the spoon with a flat design because it mimics the human hand," says Rahul Agarwal, designer and CEO of Polygons. "When your hand is not in use, it lays flat. But when you want to hold a heap of sand, or some water, you cup your hand to create some volume, depending on how much you want to hold—that is exactly how Polygons works." 

Buy the Polygons measuring spoon set for $10 here.

FOLD-EASE®: RIdiculous or Ingenious? Useful or Unecessary?

Has anyone ever tried using a FOLD-EASE®?

FOLD-EASE® is a patented paper and card creasing tool, which prevents friction burns/cuts, speeds up folding and creates a better fold appearance.

Speeds up folding.
Better fold appearance.
Prevents friction burns and cuts

Dermot sent a link to the Origami List.  Looks like it was featured recently on some show called Dragon's Den.




 A "pointless pitch"?




I am almost 100% sure I saw this product at an OUSA convention, around 2005 or so.  I vaguely remember someone in the hospitality area using it; or promoting it.  It's been out of sight out of mind, since; and it took clicking on Dermot's link to make me recall having seen it a decade ago.

Okay, on this page it says "founded in 2011".   Hmm...

Can't believe this product has survived and kept in business, if I in fact did see it years ago. The reason why I think it's been that long ago, is until 2015, I had stopped attending OUSA conventions around 2007 (aside from maybe a PCOC here or there).


Anyone can back me up on this or know anything more?

Daiso store in Gardena, California

At the Marukai in Gardena, they also sell packets of double-sided/same colors kami for $5.99.  A rare find.